One Thing Is For Sure
by inSANTANAty
Summary: Brittana from the beginning. Santana Marie Lopez and Brittany Susan Pierce have been destined to be together since before they were born. But to what extent their mothers could have never guessed. Starting from kindergarten all the way through high school and into college, this is the story of a lifelong friendship that has always been fated for more.
1. Chapter 1

**October 1993. Lima, Ohio. Years and Years ago…**

A cool autumn breeze blew through the maple trees in a picturesque little park just on the outskirts of the small town. The sounds of the ruffling leaves that were beginning to fall to the ground in scattered rainbows of oranges, reds, and yellows along with the playful laughter of distant children were all that could be heard on this auspicious day.

At the southwest corner of the park two young ladies could be spotted, sitting comfortably next to each other, both of them seemingly glowing. An air of hushed excitement clung to the two of them as they soaked in the beauty of the day, and watched the children play blissfully.

One of the women was tall and blonde, with eyes as bright as the baby blue sky. Her slender figure was one millions were envious of, yet her features were humble and soft, like that you would expect from an angel of the heavens. Her skin was pale and vivid; practically translucent.

The other woman was the complete opposite of the blonde, but not any less exquisite. Ethnically inclined, she was considerably shorter, but still just as petite. Her skin was a warm almost caramel color and her hair and eyes were as dark as rich coffee.

"Oh Maribel!" The blonde women exclaimed excitedly. "Congratulations! What perfect timing!" She smiled enormously at her good friend while she rubbed her own stomach affectionately. The level of her voice never reached more than that of one spoken inside, but excitement leaked visibly through her eyes and tone. She has never been one to be loud and boisterous, but more soft spoken and eloquent.

Her companion tilted her head back to the wind as a larger breeze suddenly swept through, letting it entangle through her hair. The look on her face was one that suggested she was savoring the sentiment of the moment, trying to remember every last detail as if she would never experience it again.

She smiled toward her elegant companion, nodding in agreement. "Yes my dearest Fallon. We are finally getting everything we have dreamed of ever since we were young. Now we can watch our children grow and become as close as we have been in the last 17 years." She closes her eyes in peaceful reminiscence as Fallon looks out across the park.

"Can you imagine Belly? If one of us has a boy and one of us has a girl? The possibilities of love…. We may have a marriage to plan in our future!" Fallon's eyes glaze over animatedly as she lets her imagination get the best of her.

"Fallon! I'd like to just focus on bringing the little tykes into the world before we start planning a wedding!" Maribel says in mock exasperation. Maribel has always been the sensible one of the two. For as long as they have known each other Fallon has always been the daydreamer, and Maribel has always had two feet planted firmly on the ground. This was not to say that Maribel was uptight or boring, she just kept a hopeful realistic light shed on the world whereas Fallon let her dreams and imagination sweep her off her feet in any direction.

Her voice is light and amused as she speaks. "Besides! We could both have boys! Or girls! Wouldn't that be something?" Fallon considers these possibilities with a look of utmost pride and happiness strewn across her face.

"You're right. I shouldn't be jumping the gun yet, it's just so exciting! But no matter what the circumstances turn out to be, the only thing that matters is that we are doing this together. Just like we always wanted." Fallon bounces a little in her seat and Maribel laughs kindly at her.

"I just can't believe it's really happening. When Santos finally agreed to start trying I never would've imagined it would happen so fast, we are very fortunate to have conceived so closely together. Our children will be the same age, which means they can attend grade school together and everything! Aye Dios mio…" Maribel turns her attention to the children playing in the distance. Fallon takes notice and follows her gaze.

"Just think, in a few years, our children will be playing in this exact park together. Later they'll be on the football team together or on the prom committee. They'll be each other's best men or maids of honor. It's just so overwhelming. I couldn't have asked for more." Fallon turns back towards Maribel and places her hand gently overtop of hers. Maribel smiles warmly in response and gives Fallon's fingers a friendly squeeze.

"Yes we are very lucky. I think that fate has laid a hand today. It will be such a wonderful blessing to see their story unfold right before our eyes." Maribel states gracefully. As the sun begins to set over the top of the trees the two girls stand from their peaceful spot on the park bench and make their way back to their cars. They hug and exchange their goodbyes as they temporarily part ways. One heads for the center of Lima settled in a quaint development and the other back to the poorly reputed Lima Heights Adjacent.

Never was there a more odd and unexpected friendship than that of the two girls from the opposite sides of the tracks, but little did they know that their friendship would soon serve a bigger purpose. Nine months later they would both be the proud mothers of two little girls: Santana Marie Lopez and Brittany Susan Pierce. This is their story.

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	2. Chapter 2

**August 1999, Lima Elementary: Kindergarten.**

"Okay mija, are you ready for your first day of kindergarten?" Maribel Lopez looks down at her 5 year old daughter who has a mixed look of apprehension and courage on her face. The little girl is the spitting image of her mother, with the pride and confidence of her father. She has beautiful ethnic skin and dark hair that was pulled back into a ponytail. Maribel gazes at her daughter and can't believe how fast the time has gone and wondered how it was possible that her little baby was about to start her first day of school so quickly.

Standing next to Maribel, Fallon looks down on her own daughter, who isn't really paying much attention to either of them. Instead she is looking curiously at the wall decorations plastered throughout the hallways, clearly lost in her own imagination. Fallon looks knowingly at Maribel, mirroring her thoughts. Fallon's daughter is taller than Maribel's and thinner too. Her hair is long and tied back into a ponytail also but with bangs, and her eyes are as piercing as her mother's.

"Mami! Do we have to go? Can't Britt-Britt and me just go to the park? Why do we have to go to yucky school?" Santana reaches over and tugs on Brittany's hand to get her attention. She looks over dreamily and nods her head eagerly in response to Santana's request, although she didn't hear a word of it. It didn't matter what Santana had said, because Brittany would always go along with it. That's just how it's always been ever since the two could talk. Santana would take the lead, and Brittany would follow her brazenly anywhere, no matter what.

This didn't mean that Santana pushed Brittany around, it was quite the opposite really. Brittany genuinely wanted to do whatever Santana did. They were inseparable. Although Santana was the younger of the two (by just a few weeks) Santana was always looking out for Brittany. They had been together since diapers and were each other's only form of social interaction other than their parents and distant family members. Brittany did her fair share of looking out for Santana as well. Just like any good friendship, each child had their strengths to offer to the relationship, making for one even scale.

"Yeah mommy can't Sanny and me go swing on the swings? It'll be more funner if we can slide down the slide again and again like we normally do..." Brittany smiles a toothy smile and Santana nods triumphantly in agreement.

Maribel and Fallon chuckle at their daughters attempts. "Ah, They haven't even had their first day of school yet and they are already giving us trouble about going." Fallon jokes to Maribel. "Looks like we have our work cut out for us, especially if they are going to tag-team us."

"You've got that right Fallon, but we knew what we were in for ahead of time, I think that gives us the slight advantage." Maribel winks at her best friend and then crouches down to Santana and Brittany's level.

"Listen mijas, you must go to school. You will learn so many new exciting things like reading and science…It's something that we all must do. You will get the chance to play on the playground today with all the other children you are going to meet, but first you have to go to kindergarten and become even smarter than you already are. Okay?"

Santana gives her signature scowl, but Brittany nods in agreement, persuaded easily by her 'Aunt' Maribel's words. Santana rolls her eyes at Brittany and crosses her arms with as much sass as she can muster in her tiny little body.

"But I don't want to go Mami!" Santana pouts.

"No buts mija, you're going and that's that. You will be with Brittany all day, there is no need to be scared…You'll have so much fun together that you won't even realize when the day is over." Maribel informs her daughter.

Santana looks towards her partner in crime and Brittany nods at her encouragingly. Santana gives a meek smile and then realizes her mom is still there and immediately places her scowl back on her face.

She looks at her mom and then just shrugs nonchalantly. Maribel laughs at her daughter, knowing full well that she is just as stubborn as her father.

At this point Fallon crouches down to their level and opens her arms for Brittany to walk into. Brittany embraces her mother and kisses her cheek lovingly as the first bell of the day begins to ring.

Maribel extends her arms out to hug Santana who reluctantly agrees and then the two women stand up.

"Alright Brittany, be good today, and make sure Santana stays out of trouble." Fallon jokes. Brittany nods again and walks to Santana's side, extending out her hand. Santana takes her hand without hesitation and waves at her own mother with her free arm. Maribel wipes away a stray tear as the two girls turn their backs on them and head towards their classroom, where the teacher is beginning to usher in all the children.

Santana and Brittany get halfway through the door when Santana stops abruptly. She gently pulls her hand away from Brittany and turns and runs to her mother. Maribel crouches down again worriedly.

"What's wrong baby?" Maribel asks Santana but Santana just hugs her mother tightly.

"Te amo, mami." She whispers so that no one around can hear except for Fallon who observes the scene lovingly while pretending to be not paying attention. She is fully aware of Santana's pride and melts with warmth at the sight.

Brittany is very affectionate and open, just like her mommy, but with Santana it's a different story. Santana, even though she is so young, tries to take care of herself. She doesn't want to seem like a mommy's girl, or weak. She's a spitfire, and Fallon and Maribel have spent many a nights talking about the differences between their two girls. Maribel claims that Santana gets it from her father, but Fallon knows that Maribel has always been somewhat closed off as well. Ever since they've been friends she's been cautious and prideful, but over the years she has opened up and been humbled.

Santana waves at Fallon and runs back to where Brittany is waiting patiently for her in the doorway, hand extended invitingly. Santana grasps her hand again and Brittany spares one last glance at her mom and gives an exciting wave. Fallon blows her a kiss while they walk through the door.

Fallon puts her arm around her best friend's shoulder as the two girls disappear into the classroom. "Ugh, look at our babies, they're all grown up on their first day of school." Fallon's voice is unsteady as the pair looks on at the classroom a little longer, cherishing the moment.

Maribel slips her arm around Fallon's waist and they turn towards the exit. Through watery eyes she smiles and speaks up. "Yes it seems like just yesterday they were lying in their cribs together crying in unison, or potty training together. Time goes so fast…" The pair begins to cry harder with happiness and pride, and to an on looking passerby they probably seemed strange. Neither of them seemed to notice however. They were too lost in their memories and joy.

"At least they have each other. Just like we always dreamed. We couldn't be any luckier." Fallon observed and Maribel nodded in agreement.

"We have so much to be thankful for, and so much more to look forward to. I just can't believe they are growing up so fast." Maribel extends her hand to open the door to outside of the school and the two proud mothers leave their daughters behind, knowing that they had each other to rely on during their first day of school.

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The teacher closes the door behind her once all the kids are inside and Santana looks back a little panic stricken. In ways that only the hearts of the innocent can, Brittany senses Santana's anxiety, and squeezes her hand tighter, instantly soothing her.

"It's okay Sanny. I'm right here." She whispers, and Santana nods bravely.

"Okay Britt-Britt. If you say so…"

The two sit down side by side at one of the many tables strewn throughout the classroom. Brittany looks around eagerly eyeing all the toys stacked neatly everywhere. Santana on the other hand, is looking at the other children, sizing them up.

Two boys sit down across from the pair and Santana immediately scowls in unfamiliarity. Brittany smiles politely and continues to soak in her surroundings, not paying them any mind. One of the boys has a darker complexion but not like Santana, just slightly tanner than usual. He has a devious grin on his face as he fires spit balls at a dark haired girl with a big nose sitting across the room. The girl has her nose high in the air pretending that she doesn't notice as she continues to color on her page with a determined look on her face. Santana just looks on strangely fascinated, knowing the boy should probably get time out, but hoping secretly that he doesn't.

"Britt..." she whispers in her friend's ear. Brittany hums in acknowledgement but doesn't give Santana her attention. Santana nudges her harder, miffed that she's not listening. "Britt look at that stinky boy! He's spitting spit balls at the really short midget girl with the Big Bird nose! It's kinda funny actually…" Santana chuckles evilly.

Brittany turns to look at the alleged boy who sits across from them. She frowns at him. "You shouldn't do that boy." She scolds him. "That's not very nice at all. That girl might be funny looking but that's not nice of you. I'm gonna tell if you keep doing that." She smiles smugly, thinking her mom would be proud of her if she was there. Santana looked at her with her eyebrows knit, but goes along with it, turning to stick her tongue out at the spitball boy.

"Oh shut your pie holes. That's just Rachel, she doesn't care. Plus you have cooties, and you don't matter. We don't have to listen to you yucky girls." He turns to the quiet boy sitting next to him and motions for a high five. He's taller than the others, and really lanky, even at the age of 5. He smiles goofily at the girls but gives his companion a hesitant high five.

"I don't think their yucky Puck, they're kinda pretty." He whispers loudly. Blush fills his cheeks and he glances over towards the girls timidly. Brittany smiles but Santana scowls again.

Before Puck can respond Santana interjects. "Puck? What kind of a name is Puck?" she says loudly and scoffs. Brittany laughs at her, which only makes Santana sit a little taller with confidence.

"The name's Puckerman. Noah Puckerman." Puck says confidently as he pounds a fist on his chest. He points over to the other boy with his thumb without looking at him. "And that's Finn. What are your names?"

Santana rolls her eyes and looks at the teacher, who is busy with an Asian girl sitting on the floor crying. Santana frowns at the sight and whispers to herself "What a cry baby…"

Brittany on the other hand answers Puck's question enthusiastically. "I'm Brittany S. Pierce! And this is my best friend in the whole entire wide world Santana! We have been friends forever, and we will be friends for more ever…" she states matter-of-factly and Santana grins at her nodding vigorously.

"That's right. BEST friends." Santana agrees strongly.

"Me and Finn are best friends too!" Noah says excitedly.

"Awesome! We can all be friends together!" Brittany says, and the two smile at each other. Santana has a small smile on her face too, but tries to play it cool.

As the kids get settled onto their coloring sheets and talk about things like ring pops and Dragon Tales the teacher finally gets the crying Asian to settle down and sit next to Rachel and a chubby loud black girl. She goes to the front of her desk and addresses the kids.

"Okay kids! Welcome to kindergarten! It's so good to see all your smiling faces! I'm Miss Johnson!" Santana looks at Brittany nervously, and Brittany takes her hand and holds it tight. Santana swallows hard and turns her attention back to the teacher.

"If you guys are ready to start the day I'd like it if you would all pull out your pencils so we can start our first assignment!" The whole class begins to shuffle as they reach into their bags to grab their pencils. Santana bends over and grabs her pink pencil box and sets it on top of the table. She glances up at Puck and Finn to see that they both have dinosaur pencils with T-Rex shaped erasers on the end. She glared at them enviously.

Brittany looks at Santana sadly. She leans over and whispers in her ears. "San…I don't have a pencil..." she says embarrassedly. Santana tilts her head at Brittany.

"What? We went to the store and got pencils together though…" She says confusedly. Brittany shrugs and looks away before she speaks.

"You know that kitten my daddy bought me? Well…he ate them. All of them…" She giggles when she says this and Santana can't help but smile. Santana opens her shiny pencil box and picks out her favorite pencil. It's blue with purple flowers all over it and covered in glitter.

"Here Britt-Britt. You can have this one. It's my favorite." Brittany claps and smiles gratefully.

"Oh! Thank you San! It's bootiful. I will take real good care of it, I promise!" Santana smiles proudly and Brittany scoots her tiny chair closer to Santana's. Santana glances at her and nods once in approval. They turn their attention to the teacher giggling and teeheeing with each other all morning long. They had so much fun on their first day of school that neither of them glanced at the clock once (not that they could tell time) just like their mothers had said.

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	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! Hope your enjoying the story so far. I know that what I posted earlier was just a quick introduction but this chapter is a little longer. As I keep getting more and more into the story line the chapters will continue to grow in length but for now I'm just easing into it. I really enjoy writing this so far and am looking forward to the progression of the story. Let me know what you think with your reviews and you can find me on tumblr: insantanaty . tumblr . com  
**

**May 2000**

"Brittany hurry up we are going to be late sweetheart!" Fallon yells kindly up the stairs to her daughter. She walks out of the side door to the garage and starts up the minivan that's parked inside of it. She sits there for a few minutes waiting patiently for her 5 year old, wondering what could be taking so long.

After several moments Brittany comes rushing out of the house and up to her mother's window. Fallon chuckles at Brittany's disheveled hair and observes the large amount of items she has piled up in her arms. Fallon rolls down her window, resisting the urge to laugh.

"Baby, what is all that stuff?" Brittany looks up at her with wide eyes and then back down at the heap in her arms.

"It's crackers and bread and carrots! I thought the aminals would be hungry! I mean they don't call them hungry hungry hippos for nuthin Mommy! They're so hungry it takes two hungrys to describe how hungry they are! I mean if I was a hippo I would be hungry hungry too!" At this point Fallon can't restrain a gentle laugh of amusement.

"But Brittany, you can't feed the animals at the zoo. That's what the people who work at the zoo do. We just go to look at them and enjoy them. Go put all of that back sweetheart, or you'll be the one who is hungry this week without any food in the cupboards." Fallon says this nicely, knowing that her daughter only meant well. She has such a big heart for animals and people alike, and this was a trait that Fallon was very grateful that her daughter had.

Brittany gave a pleading look to her mom, but with one last serious nod of encouragement from her, Brittany retreated back into the house, dropping boxes clumsily along the way. Fallon smiled lovingly and glanced at the clock.

"Step on it Britt! We still have to pick up Santana and Maribel! If we don't hurry we are going to miss the bus, and we will be left behind while all your friends get to go to the zoo without you!" When Brittany hears this Fallon hears a rather loud thud (suggesting that Brittany must've abandoned returning the food to their rightful place and just dropped everything on the floor) and sees Brittany running full force from the kitchen to the door. Fallon presses the button that automatically opens the back door to the van and Brittany jumps in dramatically.

"Drive mommy! Drive! I must see the tigers! I can't miss them mommy! I just can't! Lord Tubbington will kill me!" Brittany lunges forward in between the seats to look at her mom and convince her how serious she was.

"Not until you get in your seat and buckle up Brittany, you know the rules. Now sit back." Fallon urges and begins to pull out the garage and down the driveway.

"I'm so excited mommy! I get to go see all my favorite aminals and I will be with my most favoritist people in the world! You and Santana…" Brittany sits back in her car seat and looks out the window thinking about all the different animals she will get to see soon.

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"Mami! They're late! We are going to miss the bus!" Santana is pacing around her living room checking the window every 30 seconds for a sign of the blue minivan in the driveway.

"Settle down Mija. Be patient. They will be here soon. Do you have everything you need? Your camera that Papi bought you? How about your lunch?" Maribel says from the couch. She is reading the Daily Lima Gazette, and glances up to see if her daughter is paying any attention to her.

Santana pulls herself away from the window again to look at her mother. "Yes Mami, I have everything. We just need to leave already!" Santana rolls her eyes and spares another frantic glance out the window.

Maribel snickers and returns to the article on gardening that she was reading. Unsatisfied by the results that the window was giving her Santana walks over to the front door and opens it, sticking her head out to check the road for Brittany's van.

"Aye. She is always late Mami."Santana shuts the door and walks back into the living room, where she stands in front of her mother and taps her foot impatiently. Maribel ignores her daughter's complaints and flips the page of the newspaper. Santana huffs in annoyance and dramatically throws herself into an arm chair to wait. Her arms are crossed so tightly across her chest that it's a wonder she could breathe. Maribel glances subtly up from her paper and smiles at her daughter's lack of patience.

"Relax Mija. It's not that late. We have plenty of time to get there. I know you are excited but they won't get here any faster with you acting like that." Santana sighs again and uncrosses her arms begrudgingly. Just then the sound of a nearby car pulling into the driveway fills the house and a horn is sounded. Santana jumps up so fast that Maribel couldn't figure out how she had gotten to the other side of the room so quickly.

Santana grabs her pack that is sitting near the door and runs out to the van. Maribel picks up her purse from the coffee table leisurely and scans the room for anything Santana may have forgotten. Unsurprisingly her disposable camera is sitting in the armchair and she reaches down to grab it before walking out of the house and locking the door behind them.

"Hello ladies!" Maribel greets Fallon and Brittany warmly. Brittany merely smiles politely at her, too distracted by a Discovery Kids book on wild cats. Fallon leans over and the two women kiss each other platonically on the cheek. Fallon looks into the back seat to make sure that Santana is strapped into her car seat before backing out and heading towards the elementary school. The two women chat away amicably and leave Brittany and Santana to themselves.

Santana looks over at Brittany, slightly bothered that she hasn't paid any attention to her since she got into the car. She frowns wondering what's so interesting about a dumb book.

"Hi Britt-Britt!" She says expectantly and Brittany's head and eyes pop up as if she just realized Santana was there.

"Hi Sanny! Look at this book my daddy bought me! It's all about wild kittys! Lions and Tigers and even Cheetahs!" Brittany reaches far over to place the book in front of Santana with a big smile on her face, and Santana attempts to remain somewhat uninterested.

Santana looks down at the pages and sees colorful pictures of tigers strewn across them. Santana's grin grows wide and Brittany's grows wider in response, pleased that Santana is impressed. "Isn't it cool Sanny? We get to see these at the zoo today! Together! I can't wait!" she says excitedly.

Santana looks up at her companion with a mirrored look of excitement. "I know Britt-Britt I'm excited too. It's gonna be soooo much fun." She hands the book back over to Brittany and Brittany reaches out for it happily.

Brittany looks at the pictures of the cheetahs for awhile longer before a frustrated frown spreads across her face. Santana looks at her with her eyebrows knit, wondering what the matter was.

"What's wrong Britt?" she asks her. Brittany looks at her for a moment and shoves the book back across the space in between them again and points at the page.

"What does this say? I can't read as good as you yet…" Santana looks at her smugly, clearly taking her comment as a compliment.

"Don't worry Britt-Britt. I can read it to you. You will learn soon enough. Here..." Santana reaches out for half of the book with her right hand as Brittany holds onto the other side of the book leaving it available for both of the girls to look at together. Santana takes her free hand and follows the words with her left index finger. She looks at Brittany encouragingly and Brittany smiles at her.

"Okay, It says: 'The cheetah lives mostly in Africa and has the fastest land speed of any animal. It can go up to as much as 75 miles per hour and can reach 0 – 62 miles per hour in just 3 seconds.'" Santana looks up at Brittany, proud to be able to help Brittany in any way that she can.

"Wow! Mommy!" Brittany yells to her mother for her attention. "Mommy!" Fallon glances in the rearview mirror.

"What honey?" she says in response to let her daughter know she is listening.

"The cheetah has the fastest land speed of any aminal! It can run 75 miles per hour!" Brittany repeats the information back to her mother animatedly, her grin spread across her face from ear to ear. Santana smiled at Brittany fondly and nodded in agreement towards Fallon.

"Wow sweetie. That's great!" Fallon muses quickly and returns to her conversation with Maribel.

"Okay Britt." Santana chimes in. "It's your turn…" Santana flips the page to the tigers and points at the words across the page. "What does this say?"

Brittany looks down at the words and her smile fades. "I don't know Santana. I don't know!" Santana takes Brittany's free hand in hers and points her index finger to the words supportively.

"Yes you do Britt-Britt. You can do it. Now read it with me. Okay?" Brittany looks up hesitantly at Santana but seeing the encouragement on her face she nods timidly.

"Okay…" Brittany says unsure. She stares at the words for a few moments and Santana waits patiently.

Fallon watches through the rearview mirror and Maribel looks back curiously at the two girls, who don't notice their audience. Santana is always very patient with Brittany. Her parents can never understand it because when it comes to everything and everyone else, Santana has no patience whatsoever, but when it comes to Brittany, her patience and kindness is never ending.

Maribel is both perplexed and grateful at this, wondering what it is about Brittany that brings such an unusual response out of her erratic daughter.

"The tiger is the lar-larrrgg" Brittany sounds out. Santana just nods when Brittany looks at her for help.

"That's right Britty. Sound it out. The tiger is the large-"

Brittany smiles slightly at the support Santana gives her and returns to the words on the page. With her head held a little higher she reads slowly but confidently. "The tiger is the lar-largest cat of all. It can wageha—"

"No Britt that's not right. Try again." Santana says gently. Brittany's eyebrow scrunches together as she concentrates even harder on getting the words right.

"The tiger is the largest cat of all," Brittany rereads. "It can w-wa-way!" She looks up at Santana for confirmation. "It can weigh!" Santana nods proudly and Brittany continues reading to her.

"The tiger is the largest cat of all. It can weigh up to 680 p-pou-pounds! It can weigh up to 680 pounds!" Brittany drops the book in exhilaration and claps loudly. Santana places her end of the book on the floor in between them carefully and joins in her clapping. "Good job Britt-Britt. You did it!"

Maribel interrupts the heartbreakingly beautiful moment between the girls. "That was wonderful Brittany. You are so smart!" Brittany's face lights up at the compliments and looks at her mom.

"Did you hear that mommy! I read it! The tiger is the biggest cat, and it is 680 pounds!" She leans forward in her car seat practically jumping out of it with enthusiasm. Fallon looks to Maribel with a tear in her eye and nods largely.

"Yes baby I did hear it! I'm so proud of you!" She shrieks happily. Santana continues to look at Brittany, letting her soak up the well deserved praise happily. Brittany looks over at Santana and smiles hugely at her. Santana gives her a thumbs up and the pair sit back and wait anxiously to go to the zoo together and see the wild cats that occupy the pages of their book.

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Miss Johnson's kindergarten class enters through the gate of the zoo full of energy and excitement. Maribel and Fallon are there as chaperones along with Finn Hudson's mom Carol and both of Rachel Berry's dads. The adults all keep their eyes attentively on the bustling children, enjoying the youth that surrounds them.

Brittany and Santana are naturally holding hands as they walk beside Tina Cohen-Chang and Mercedes Jones with Puck and Finn not far behind. Tina and Brittany have become close, though not as close as Santana and Brittany, and Santana is always a little envious whenever the two get together. Mercedes is next to Santana and they chatter away softly as Tina and Brittany giggle excitedly in anticipation.

"The cheetah has the fastest land speed of any aminal Tina. It can run up to 75 miles per hour, and the tiger is the largest cat weighing up to 680 pounds. I read that today in my _Big Book of Wild Cats_." Brittany repeats her new knowledge to her tiny friend and Tina listens intently.

"Wow Brittany! That's so cool! I am looking forward to the aquarium section. I want to see the dolphins!" Tina chimes in with her quiet soprano voice.

"That sounds awesome! I just really want to see the cats." Brittany states as a fact.

Santana is listening in on the conversation ignoring Mercedes for the most part, and decides to interrupt.

"I thought you would want to see the Pandas most Tina. To remind you of home…" Mercedes laughs and Santana smiles arrogantly. Tina looks down shyly and Brittany just tilts her head in confusion. Even at such a young age Santana manages to be insulting and mean, and when it's towards people that Brittany likes she isn't quite sure how to react.

"Santana Marie Lopez!" Maribel scolds her from behind. "I heard that! Be nice or you'll have to stay with us boring old adults!" Santana looks back with a fake apologetic look but turns forward with a devious grin back on her face. Brittany lets go of her hand and pats a sad Tina on the back comfortingly.

"I like pandas. They are soft and cuddly and cute! We can go see the pandas together Tina!" Santana looks at Brittany with betrayal and scoffs under her breath. Tina on the other hand brightens up and nods at Brittany's suggestion.

"Okay!" She says cheerfully and just then Puck pushes through the four girls to get in front of them.

"Girls should be BEHIND the boys. Come on Finn!" Finn walks around the girls instead of pushing through them and looks at them apologetically.

"Does it really matter where we walk Puck? We are all going to the same place." Finn observes tenderly.

"Come on Finn! We have to be the first people to see the alligators and the snakes!" Finn looks a little timid at the mention of the reptiles but goes along with his friend's excitement.

"Yeah." He says unconvincingly. "That's right."

Santana looks on enviously secretly wanting to see the snakes first with Puck. Since Brittany is paying attention to Tina and Mercedes she pulls ahead of the group of girls to walk along side Puck and Finn. Puck looks at her like she's gross but Santana ignores it.

"Where's Berry?" She asks, knowing this will spark the boy's interest.

Puck looks at her for a moment considering whether or not to respond or ignore the yucky girl walking next to him but can't resist the chance to pick on his fellow Jew.

"She's with her dads. No one likes her so she is staying with the adults." Puck says mischievously. Santana feels a pang of guilt at the fact that Rachel has to be alone at the zoo but the urge to seem cool to the boys wins out and she laughs evilly instead.

"She's such a weirdo!" Santana says in response and Puck laughs. Santana looks back to see if Brittany has noticed that she was gone, but she is still engulfed in her conversation about pandas with Mercedes and Tina and hasn't even noticed her absence.

Santana frowns and talks louder to try to get her attention. "Yeah well I can't wait to see the Sharks!" She tells Puck and he raises his eyebrows surprised.

"You like sharks?" he asks incredulously. "But girls don't like sharks. Girls like puppies and flowers and pink. Girls aren't allowed to like sharks…" Puck finishes and looks at Finn who seems to be confused at the notion too.

"Well I'm not a normal girl." Santana says proudly. "I don't like pink and I don't like flowers (although she in fact really does). I'm tough! More tougher then you!" She bravely states and Puck scoffs.

"Ha! No one is tougher than the Puckasauraus. Especially not a stinky _girl!" _Puck laughs out and Santana gets so angry that she stomps on his foot as hard as she can. Puck yells out in pain and falls to the ground crying and all the girls look to see what the commotion is about.

Santana smiles in achievement and sticks her tongue out at him before turning around to return to her spot at Brittany's side. Fallon approaches Puck to see what's wrong and he tells her that Santana did it.

Fallon turns to Santana unsurprised and walks up to her with her hands on her hips.

"Young lady, what do you have to say for yourself?" Fallon looks down at Santana and Santana looks up at her innocently and shrugs.

"Your mother told you to be nice or you'd be stuck with us so let's go." She reaches out her hand to Santana and Santana glares at her angrily.

"But!" Santana says and Brittany looks at her mom sadly.

"But mommy!" Brittany interrupts. "Sanny and I have to see the cats together! We are almost to the first eggsbit!" Fallon smiles at Brittany and the other two girls and takes Santana's hand.

"It's _exhibit_ sweetie, and Santana has to learn to be nice to the other kids before she can enjoy the animals. If she apologizes to Puck and Tina after her time out she will get to see the cats with you." Fallon tells her daughter. Brittany nods sadly and whispers in Santana's ear.

"San. You have to say sorry after your time out! We have to see the tigers and cheetahs together…" Brittany looks at her pleadingly and Santana remains stubborn.

"No way! I'm not saying sorry!" She says loudly and Fallon rolls her eyes at the obstinate girl.

"Alright come on then." Fallon says as she begins to pull Santana away from the kids. Santana glances at Puck who smiles arrogantly at her and then she looks at Brittany again who nearly has tears in her eyes. At the sight of Brittany almost crying Santana sighs in resignation.

"Fine!" She yells and pulls her hand away from Fallon. "Fine Fine! I'll say sorry." Brittany's face immediately lights up when she hears this and jumps up and down. Santana walks up to Tina and avoids eye contact. She puts her hands behind her back and crosses her feet embarrassedly.

"I'm sorry." She mumbles quietly looking at the ground and before Tina can respond Fallon speaks up.

"What was that Santana? You'll have to speak up so that she can hear you." Santana rolls her eyes dramatically and fidgets around uncomfortably.

"I'm sorry!" She says louder and looks at Fallon for approval, who gives her a pointed look. Santana huffs a loud sigh and turns back to Tina who is looking at Santana sympathetically.

"Okay, okay! I'm sorry for making fun of you and Pandas. I like pandas too and I think that it will be fun to look at them together." Tina laughs and nods, accepting her apology. Santana smiles back at her genuinely and turns to head over to the group of adults for her time out.

"Ah, ah, ah young lady." Fallon calls out. "Aren't you forgetting something?" Santana turns around, disappointed that she didn't get away with it, and stomps over to Puck angrily.

"Puck! I'm sorry I stomped on your foot and made you cry like a big baby. It's not my fault that I am tougher than you." She says haughtily and whips around and walks over to her mother who begins to scold her lightly in Spanish. Fallon sighs in resignation already knowing that that was the best apology she would get out of the stubborn little girl.

Santana walks beside her mom looking at Brittany and the other kids longingly, but doesn't dare to misbehave again just in case her mom doesn't let her see the exhibits with Brittany. Santana glances around at her surroundings and notices Rachel Berry not far from her. She looks at her curiously noticing that she looks somewhat sad. Santana sighs and looks up at her mom for approval who just nods slightly without looking down.

She lets go of her mother's hand and walks over to the lonely girl. "Hi Rachel." Santana says apprehensively.

Rachel looks up at her surprised, as if she wasn't sure if this was a trick or not. Santana smiles slightly at the caution in her eyes but knows her mother is watching so she continues to be nice.

"Do you want to come look at the cats with Britty and me? It's no fun by yourself…" Rachel looks at her dads for approval who just push her encouragingly towards Santana. Santana reluctantly takes Rachel's hand and guides her over to Brittany as they are just coming up on the first exhibit.

"Hi Rachel!" Brittany says happily as the two girls approach. Mercedes looks at Santana skeptically but Tina smiles warmly. Santana lets go of Rachel's hand as soon as they reach the other girls and reaches for Brittany's instead. Brittany takes it and squeezes tight, happy to have her best friend back from time out.

"What aminals do you want to see Rachel?" Brittany asks Rachel genuinely and Santana just listens. Rachel smiles timidly before she answers.

"Oh I don't know Brittany. They are all very nice, but I feel like they shouldn't be kept in these cages. I feel like they should be free." Brittany nods in agreement.

"Yeah! We should try to set them free San!" she says to her best friend and Santana just looks at the two girls like they're crazy.

"I think I've had enough of time out for one day, so I think I will pass on that one Britty." Brittany seems to consider this and shrugs.

"I wanted to feed them but mommy made me put all the food back." Brittany says to all the girls and Santana gives her a devious look.

Santana pulls her small back pack off of her shoulder and unzips the pouch. She reaches in as the girls look at her curiously. When her hand emerges she is holding a loaf of bread. She gives it to Brittany who is overjoyed at the sight.

"I knew you'd want to feed them so I brought this for you." Santana says proudly and Brittany squeals with delight as the other girls laugh with enjoyment as well.

"Thanks Sanny!" Brittany yells and grabs the loaf. As all the kids approach the fence for the gazelle exhibit Brittany opens the bag of bread and pulls out a slice for each one of them. The five girls all laugh and tear their bread up, throwing it into the holes in the fence when they think no one is looking. Surprisingly a baby gazelle approaches them slowly and cautiously, and Fallon and Maribel observe the girls interaction with the animal.

"How did she get that loaf of bread?" Fallon asks Maribel. "I made her put everything back..."

Maribel chuckles lightly and gives Fallon a knowing look. "How do you think she got it then?" Maribel says.

Fallon rolls her eyes and looks at Santana who is watching Brittany watch the animals eat her bread triumphantly. Although Santana may misbehave and is much more mischievous than Brittany, Fallon can't deny how much she loves her.

"Oh Maribel." Fallon muses. "Our girls are turning out to be wonderful young ladies aren't they? Each different in their own way but both so special and beautiful." Maribel pats Fallon on the back and nods in agreement.

"Yes they are, and they love each other so much. I don't think I have ever seen such a strong bond between two people, and they are only 5 years old. They have old souls I think." Fallon laughs in agreement and the two continue to watch their daughters enjoy the animals lovingly.

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After a long day at the zoo both Brittany and Santana are napping in their car seats on the ride home. Brittany is snuggling up to her tiger and cheetah stuffed animals that she got at the souvenir shop and Santana is hugging the shark that she picked out. Maribel tried to reason with Santana to get the panda or the lion but Santana insisted on the shark that Puck had also coincidentally picked out for himself. Maribel shrugged in submission, wondering why her daughter was so set on the boy's attention.

Checking the rearview mirror to make sure the girls were fast asleep Fallon spoke up.

"Santana sure is something isn't she? Sneaking that bread in for Brittany and helping her read. I can never tell with her. One moment she's angelic and happy and the next she devilish and angry."

Maribel listens intently. "Si, Si. She is her father's daughter. She has pride and stubbornness up to her eyeballs but when it comes to the people she cares about she is as soft as a teddy bear. I am surprised at how young her personality has developed but I think she will only get more exuberant as she gets older. I have a tough road ahead with her I suspect." Fallon nods, seeming distant.

"What's wrong?" Maribel observes and Fallon looks over surprised.

"Oh nothing is wrong at all. Mason is just asking for another one. He says he wants to have a boy. Are you and Santos planning on any more? I know we've discussed it before but you never could give me a definitive answer." Fallon asks inquiringly.

"We have discussed it and we think it's best to just stick with one for now. Santana is such a handful as it is and Santos is always working double shifts at the hospital. It would be difficult to have another one at this point in our lives. Besides, we are really happy with Santana. She brings us great joy." Maribel says adoringly.

Fallon considers this for a moment and speaks up. "She is something special that one. Brittany too. It's amazing how opposite they are and how they get along so well. I know Mason said he wants another boy but I wouldn't mind another little girl. Brittany is so well behaved and easy to deal with that having another one just like her would be a dream. I know it doesn't usually work like that but, a girl can hope right?" Without noticing Santana and Brittany had woken up the women continue their conversation about the possibilities of Fallon having another child in the near future. Santana and Brittany listen in, not understanding the full extent of the conversation but knowing the general idea of it.

"Britt." Santana whispers and Brittany looks at her listening. "Do you want a baby brother or sister?" she asks.

Brittany considers this in her head for a moment before answering. "I would love one." She simply states.

"Which one?" Santana continues to question.

"Hmm" Brittany whispers. "I would like a baby sister. So I can show her all the things I know. And you can too! She would be your sister too!" Santana smiles at the thought of this.

"Yeah she kinda would be wouldn't she? We can show her the ropes." Santana says confidently.

"What ropes? We don't have any ropes…" Brittany asks confusedly and Santana smiles at her.

"Nothin Britt-Britt. I had fun today seeing the tigers and cheetahs." She changes the subjects and Brittany's grin gets bigger.

"I know!" she says excitedly and finally their mothers realize they are awake. "I'm glad you weren't in time out all day." Santana nods dramatically at this.

Fallon pulls into the Lopez's driveway and she and Maribel exchange their goodbyes.

"I'll call you this week sometime!" Fallon calls out the window and Maribel agrees while she helps Santana get her things together. Santana picks up her bag and her camera and begins to climb out of the van before she remembers something.

She turns back towards Brittany and hands her the disposable camera.

"Here Britt-Britt. I took lots of pictures of the cats for you. Actually it's all cats on there…You can have it." Brittany takes it in her hands and holds it preciously. She looks at it in awe and then back up at her friend.

"Thank you…" she lets out in wonder and Maribel nods at Santana letting her know she approves. Santana says goodbye to Fallon and Brittany and the two head into the house to turn in for the night. Fallon backs out of the driveway as Brittany continues to cling to the camera with the utmost care. The two girls drive home towards the center of Lima basking in the day's events contentedly.


	4. Chapter 4

**November 2002**

"Put your work books away kids, it's time for your weekly times table quiz." The second grade teacher at the front of the class calls out. A chorus of moans echo throughout the classroom in unison as sounds of desks being opened and papers being shuffled follow closely behind.

Brittany looks over at Santana nervously, taking extra time to find her number two pencil amidst the clutter of her messy desk. Santana just nods at Brittany, knowing full well that she struggles with these quizzes immensely.

Santana raises her hand abruptly. "Mr. Breighner?" she calls out to get her teachers attention. The tall husky man turns towards her and almost flinches at the sight of whose calling for his attention. School has only been in session for about 3 months and he has never had as much trouble from any other student as he has had from Santana Lopez. Last month he sent her to the principal's office five times for acting up in class, and once for even getting into a scuffle with the young gentleman Noah. Needless to say, those two sit on opposite sides of the room now, but nevertheless he will be more than eager to send this one on to the third grade come June.

One thing he can't deny when it comes to Santana is that she's one of the most intelligent students that he has ever had. She finishes her quizzes in record times and always gets one hundred percents. In addition to being the math teacher he is also the science teacher, and she always has perfect marks on her homework assignments on things like photosynthesis and the rain cycle. If only she would settle down and control her temper he would be very fond of her, but her constant need to have all eyes on her and be the class clown really bites at his patience.

"Yes Miss Lopez?" he answers cautiously, already knowing what the young girl is about to ask him.

"Is this quiz timed?" Mr. Breighner does his best to control himself from rolling his eyes. Every week she asks this question, and every week the answer is the same.

"Yes Miss Lopez." He answers monotonously. "Just like it is every week. You all get 60 seconds to answer as many questions as possible." She nods with a mischievous look on her face and he begins handing out the sheets upside down on the students desks.

"Britt-Britt. You know the drill." Santana whispers to Brittany after the teacher had already passed them by. Brittany nods, nervously glancing up at the teacher before returning her attention to her best friend.

"I don't know San, maybe I can answer them myself this time." She says hopefully. "What if you get caught? If Aunt Maribel and Uncle Santos get called in for another parent teacher meeting they're gonna kick your butt."

Santana rolls her eyes in response to Brittany's caution. "I won't get caught, we've been doing this for months now. But if you want to try to do it yourself you can. I know you can do it, you just freak yourself out with it because it is timed. We've been practicing a lot so maybe you will do well this time." She says encouragingly. Brittany smiles half heartedly, hoping that the hours the two have spent working on her times tables will pay off today.

Rachel Berry sits in front of Santana and turns around after eaves dropping in on the conversation.

"Santana Lopez I'm tired of you cheating for Brittany and getting away with it. If you do it again today, I'm going to have to tell on you to Mr. Breighner. Brittany needs to learn her math by herself without your help or she is never going to move onto the third grade." Santana's eyes narrow as she glares at Rachel Berry, who has grown immune to her death stares by now.

"No one asked you banana nose." She spits in response and Brittany's eyes widen at Santana's insult.

"San…stop. You're gonna get in trouble." She warns but Santana just ignores her.

"You won't tell on me Rachel Berry. You threaten it every day, but you never have, and you never will. You're too chicken to tattle on me because you know I'll give you a knuckle sandwich if you do.

Rachel scoffs in response. "You sound just like Noah Puckerman, Santana. You need to stop trying to be such a boy, and act more like a lady!" she whispers incredulously and Mercedes, who is sitting in the desk in front of Brittany's, peers over her shoulder wide eyed at the two arguing 8 year olds. Brittany and Mercedes exchange wary looks as they already know what's coming. They do their best to pretend that they don't notice the two girls butting heads and turn to the other side of the room where Finn and Mike Chang are sitting.

"What did you just say to me?" Santana answers slowly. Rachel realizes what she just said and shrinks back into her desk a little bit.

"W-what I meant to say was that Noah is a bad egg Santana. You should stop acting like him and be more…" Rachel cuts herself off in a loss for words as Santana glares threateningly at the small girl in front of her.

"Whatever Rachel. Just shut up and let me do what I want. You can't tell me what to do. You're not the boss of me." She spits out and crosses her arms over her chest angrily. The teacher reaches the front of the class and peers over at the two girls.

"Everything okay over here Miss Berry?" he asks and she glances back at the intimidating girl behind her. Santana raises her eyebrows challengingly and Rachel heaves a long and heavy sigh.

"Yes Mr. Breighner, we were just practicing our multiplication tables." Mr. Breighner nods.

"Very good, but it's almost time to start, so eyes forward." He reminds her and goes over to his desk. Santana snickers with triumph as Brittany returns her attention back to Santana.

"You're lucky I like Brittany, Santana." Rachel retorts. "Or you'd be in big big trouble right now." Santana pouts angrily and makes a funny face at her. Rachel lets out a frustrated 'hmph' and turns around dramatically in her seat to wait for the quiz to begin.

Santana smiles widely, glad to be rid of Rachel's pestering for the time being and turns to Brittany.

"So you ready for the quiz Britty?" She asks sweetly, all traces of anger and snootiness gone.

Brittany still looks nervous as she nods her head slowly. "Uh…yeah. I think so." She gulps out.

Santana reaches over and places her pencil on her desk. "Here, this pencil is lucky, you take it. Give me yours." She says as she reaches for the severely chewed on yellow pencil. Brittany's face lights up as she takes Santana's pencil that has all sorts of different sports cars on it.

"Where did you get this Sanny?" Brittany asks in wonderment. Santana glances across the room guiltily before making eye contact with Brittany.

"I stole it from Puckerman." She says quietly and Brittany laughs. "What?" Santana asks defensively, and Brittany just shakes her head.

"I like it." Is all she says. Santana nods proudly in agreement and Mr. Breighner clears his throat to get the kids attention.

Santana chances a quick glance at the teacher before whispering one last thing to Brittany. "You'll be fine Britt-Britt. I know you can do it, you're really smart." She says and Brittany's confidence level shoots up by a thousand percent.

"Alright class, are you all ready?" The teacher asks collectively and a small murmur of response comes from the class. "You have 60 seconds to fill out as many as possible. Ready? Go." Mr. Breighner sets his timer and the swift sound of papers being turned around quickly can be heard.

Santana flips her paper over and fills out her times tables at record speed. She goes home and practices sometimes so that she can get her whole paper finished in 30 seconds and have time to fill Brittany's paper out before the teacher can notice. She has memorized the entire multiplication table all the way up to twelve, so all she has to do is look at it and jot it down, without even having to think about it. She fills in her last couple of problems and flips her paper over loudly.

Mr. Breighner looks up at her from his papers and sees that she's finished, but then returns his attention away from her. Santana looks over at Brittany to see how well she's doing.

Brittany is only on her fourth problem and she looks really nervous. Although she goes home and practices with Santana she just can't seem to answer them as quickly as everyone else. If the test wasn't timed she could finish it eventually with mostly the right answers but listening to the timer tick away makes her even more nervous and just keeps her from answering to the best of her abilities.

She frowns as she tries to concentrate really hard and a small noise of frustration escapes her lips as she comes across a nine problem. She is terrible at the nines.

Santana clears her throat minimally to get her attention and Brittany glances over. She only has about 25 seconds left and she has only got 5 problems out of 50 filled in. Santana smiles at Brittany encouragingly, but Brittany shakes her head in defeat. A sad look fills Brittany's face and Santana's face fills with worry in response.

Santana and Brittany both look at the teacher who still isn't paying attention and Santana swipes Brittany's paper away from her desk as quickly and quietly as she can. Santana begins scribbling down the answers as fast as she can, knowing she only has about 15 seconds to get 45 questions done.

Brittany bounces her leg up and down anxiously as she keeps a look out at the teacher and the timer. Just before the bell is about to ring on the timer Santana places Brittany's quiz back in front of her and returns her hands to her own desk just in the nick of time. A sneaky smile is threatening at the corner of her mouth, knowing full well that she finished Brittany's questions faster than she ever had before.

Brittany smiles gratefully as she looks down at her paper. Brittany knows Santana would throw a few wrong answers in her paper because if she didn't the teacher would suspect something is going on. No matter how hard Brittany tries to be as smart as Santana she just can't keep up. Santana says that she is as smart as her, and sometimes even smarter, but Brittany doesn't know how.

"Okay class. Pencils down and turn your papers over." Some kids were still scribbling away furiously trying to get done without the teacher noticing. Mr. Breighner begins collecting all the papers from the kids and Mercedes turns around after he had grabbed theirs.

"How did you do Brittany?" She asks curiously and Brittany looks blankly at her.

"I got five problems done." She says embarrassingly. Mercedes nods.

"Well that's more than last time." Mercedes notes. "You're getting better." Santana smiles at Mercedes appreciatively and nods in agreement.

"Yeah Britt-Britt. We will keep working on it." She says reassuringly and Brittany cheers up immediately.

The three girls can sense Rachel eaves dropping but they ignore her because she is still sighing disapprovingly at them.

"Okay class. Recess time. Put your things neatly in your desk and get into your lines to head outside to the playground. Our line leaders today will be Mike and Rachel." Rachel beams at this information and Brittany and Mercedes congratulate Mike.

"Good job Mike!" Brittany squeals out and Mike grins with accomplishment. To be a line leader is a big deal to the second graders and only the most behaved and deserving students get the privilege.

Santana rolls her eyes at everyone. She doesn't get why it's such a big deal to be in the front of the line going out to recess. Needless to say she had never been a line leader because she always gets into trouble. She crosses her arms stubbornly and stands up to get in line. She goes over to her cubby and grabs her sweater to put on.

Brittany follows close behind and stands next to Santana at her own cubby. "Santana, you should wear your rain coat. It's going to rain." Santana looks at Brittany perplexed. She looks out the window at the sky and it is nothing but clear blue.

"Britt-Britt. Look at the sky. It's not gonna rain, you don't need your rain coat." Brittany doesn't even bother looking out the window before pulling on her yellow rubber rain boots and her matching rain coat and hat that have little ducks all over them. Santana shakes her head amusedly at her best friend before pulling on her own sweater.

"Alright Britty. Do what you want, but you won't need all that stuff." She says nicely. Brittany just smiles in response and reaches out her little hand for Santana's so that they can get in line. Santana takes her hand and they walk over to the line leaders and get in line to go outside for recess.

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Out on the playground Brittany, Santana, and Mercedes are climbing on the jungle gym with the first graders Artie, and Tina. Tina used to be in their grade but she got held back in kindergarten because her parents didn't think she did well enough. Brittany and Santana always wondered why they did that because Tina was really smart and always colored inside the lines and read really well.

Rachel stands close by on the black top claiming that she doesn't want to climb on the jungle gym and get hurt. Santana rolls her eyes, annoyed at Rachel, and just climbs higher.

"Santana look at us! We are monkeys!" Brittany giggles and makes monkey noises. She is hanging upside down next to Artie who is making monkey noises as well. Tina, Mercedes, and Santana all laugh loudly as Brittany and Artie pretend to pick bugs off of each other and eat them. Santana even hears muffled laughs coming from where Rachel is standing.

"Berry stop being such a scaredy cat and get on the jungle gym already. We know you want to." Santana yells over at Rachel. Rachel looks around nervously before answering.

"It's really high Santana, I don't want to fall and break my arm! You guys shouldn't be climbing so high either!" She yells and Santana just laughs off her warning.

Just then Puck and Finn wander over from the kickball field. Rachel looks at Finn adoringly and Santana makes a disgusted face.

"Rachel and Finn sitting in a tree!" she begins, and the others join in.

"K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" they sing unanimously. "First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby Berry in the baby carriage!" Rachel and Finn's faces fill with embarrassment and the both take a large step away from each other. Puck ignores the song and continues over to the jungle gym.

"Why are you wearing all that stupid rain gear Brittany Pierce? You look so dumb." he observes meanly. Brittany frowns sadly and looks at her rain coat questioningly, wondering what's so dumb about her little duckies.

Santana immediately hops down from the high bar she's on and steps up to Puck. Puck gives her a devilish grin and pushes his chest out so that he's taller than her.

"Leave Brittany alone!" Santana threatens and Puck laughs.

"Or what?" he says sarcastically.

"Or I'll beat you up!" She says toughly. Puck just laughs in her face and turns back to Brittany.

"Brittany you need to go back to the alien planet where you came from. I think your spaceship is here to pick you up, you better hurry or you might get left behind!" All the kids look at Puck, trying to decide if what he said was funny.

Secretly they all think it was amusing but with the look that's on Santana's face right now, no one dares to laugh. Instead they all look away, and some of them even leave to go over to the swings and get away from them.

Brittany jumps down from the jungle gym to stand next to Santana. "Really?" she asks seriously and both Santana and Puck raise their eyebrows at her. "They're really here to pick me up?" Brittany says innocently.

Santana looks back at Puck furiously. She seems to consider her options as Brittany gives her a pleading look. She nods at Brittany and speaks up. "Get out of here Puckerman, I mean it! I don't want to get another time out because of you!" She turns to Brittany and takes her hand forcefully. "Come on Britt-Britt. I'll push you on the swings." Brittany smiles happily and they turn to go.

"What's the matter Lopez? Afraid you can't take me?" Puck says tauntingly, and Brittany groans. She knows that if someone challenges Santana, that nothing she says or does can stop her.

Santana turns back around slowly and stomps up to Puck. He pushes her hard to the ground and Santana trips him from where she falls. Brittany throws her hands up to cover her eyes and all the surrounding kids gather around to watch excitedly.

Puck gives a war cry and climbs on top of Santana to pin her down. Santana makes no sound, she just rolls over to try to gain an advantage on Puckerman. Just when the teacher on recess duty notices what's going on, a loud clap of thunder goes off and slowly but surely, rain drops begin to fall.

Mercedes and Tina both yell and run for cover, with most of the other students following behind. Santana abandons her fight with Puck to stand up next to Brittany, who extends her arm to help her up.

It's pouring now and Puck runs to go inside as well. Santana looks at Brittany in awe.

"How did you know it was going to rain Britt-Britt?" she asks curiously. She and Brittany begin to walk slowly towards where the teacher is calling them inside, both of them in no hurry to go to reading class.

"Lord Tubbington told me, and he's always right." She says confidently. Santana just nods slowly and shakes some rain out of her face. Brittany looks over at her best friend and smiles. She tried to tell Santana to wear her rain coat, but she's so stubborn that she never listens.

Brittany reaches up and takes her hat off and places it on Santana's head, who looks up at Brittany gratefully.

"No Britty, you keep it. You were the only one smart enough to know it was going to rain." Santana says humbly.

Brittany smiles at the compliment but shakes her head. She continues to unbutton her coat and takes it off. Brittany wraps her coat around Santana's already soaked shoulders, who proceeds to pull it on without further protest.

"You should put it on. Mommy says that if you get caught in the rain without a rain coat you could get sick, and if you get sick who is going to help me with my math quizzes? And my spelling tests?" Brittany says thoughtfully.

Santana chuckles in response. "Britt. You are smart enough to do those on your own."

Brittany shakes her head again sadly. "No I'm not Sanny. Only you think that. But we both know I'm not smart like you."

Santana stops walking towards the building and pulls Brittany to a stop with her. She gives her a stern look and has to speak loudly over the falling rain and thunder.

"Brittany S. Pierce you take that back!" she threatens. "You are smart! You're smarter than me." She says earnestly. Brittany observes her face and sees that Santana is completely serious.

"Do you really think so San?" Brittany asks unsure.

Santana nods firmly and begins walking back towards the school, where the teacher is yelling at the two girls to hurry up and get inside.

"I know so! You're the smartest girl I know." She calls out with a big smile on her face, and begins to run inside. "I'll race you!" she yells and stops to wait for Brittany to catch up.

Brittany laughs and sprints to reach to her best friend, so that they can get inside away from the rain.

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"Mija!" Maribel says sternly as she walks through the front door of the elementary school office. "Have you gotten into trouble again?!"

Santana and Brittany are sitting in the principal's office waiting to be picked up. Mrs. Callaway, the secretary, informed Mrs. Lopez that the Principal needed to meet with her about her daughter's performance, and Maribel automatically suspected the worst due to recent history.

Santana shrinks down in her chair when she hears her mother's voice call out from the other room and Brittany pats her leg.

"Uh-Oh" Brittany says cutely. "She sounds mad."

Santana glances nervously at Brittany and nods.

"Aunt Belly is scary when she's mad." Brittany continues to observe and Santana just nods again, too scared to be able to form words.

Maribel finds the girls in the Principal's office and places her hands on her hips. Principal Smith is in the bathroom right now so it's just the three girls in the room.

"What did you do wrong this time young lady?" Maribel asks Santana exasperatedly. Both Brittany and Santana's eyes go wide as they look at each other then back at Maribel and shrug in unison.

"I really don't know this time Mami!" Santana pleads, but Maribel looks at her skeptically. The woman looks away from her daughter over to Brittany, who she knows won't lie to her like her daughter will.

"Brittany? What did Santana do to get me called into the principal's office….again?" Maribel speaks kindly to Brittany knowing that if she is stern with her that she won't say anything due to fear. Brittany's eyes grow even wider and she tries to think of what Santana did wrong today.

"Well…" Brittany ponders, and Santana gives her an anxious look. Brittany knows that they didn't get caught with the math quiz today, so it couldn't have been that. She knew better than to tell Aunt Maribel about that anyway. Santana says it isn't cheating if Brittany can answer the questions on her own. Brittany can answer the questions on her own too, she just can't do them fast like everyone else can.

Maribel waits patiently for Brittany to think, knowing too well that she is a day dreamer and gets distracted easily. "Brittany, honey, it's okay. You can tell me." She encourages and Brittany smiles meekly at her.

"Well Santana did almost get into a fight with Puck again today." She says quietly. Santana looks at Brittany like she betrayed her and groans.

"Britt!" she whines and Maribel hushes her daughter. Brittany looks at Santana apologetically, but she knows she can't lie to the adults, or she will get into trouble too.

"And we did take a really long time coming in from recess today. The teacher was mad cause we were both all wet, but we were just enjoying the fresh rain!" Brittany defends her best friend, and Santana giggles evilly as she remembers.

Maribel shoots a look at her daughter, shutting her up immediately.

Just then Mr. Smith returns from the bathroom before Maribel can scold her daughter any further.

"Ah Mrs. Lopez! So nice to see you again. What is this the 7th time this month?" he jokes lightly and Maribel laughs cordially in response.

Mr. Smith sits down and motions for Maribel to sit down in the chair in front of his desk. Brittany and Santana are parked in chairs next to the door and now that Santana's mom's attention is directed elsewhere the girls return to giggling and teeheeing in the background.

"So Mrs. Lopez, you must be wondering why I called you here?" Mr. Smith observes and Maribel nods.

"Yes, what has my little girl done this time? I honestly don't know what's gotten into her this year. She must be going through a phase." Maribel reasons.

"Oh Mrs. Lopez! You have come here under the wrong presumptions today. Although little Santana here is quite, shall we say rambunctious?" Mr. Smith says with an amused look at Santana, and Maribel laughs in agreement.

"Yes she can be quite a handful..." Maribel inserts lovingly.

"Well she isn't in any trouble today." Mr. Smith informs her happily and Maribel's eyes open wide with pleasant surprise. "We called you here today to talk about Santana's academic performance, which I must tell you is very impressive." Maribel's heart fills with pride as she listens to the Principal speak so highly of her daughter. She thought of what a nice change it is to be called in for good reasons instead of the normal ones like fighting with Noah Puckerman, yelling at the teacher in Spanish, and just being unruly all together.

Maribel glances back at Brittany and Santana to check on them and they seem to be paying attention to what the principal is saying. Santana wears a triumphant look on her face, seeming pleased that she isn't in trouble today.

"We called you in today because I would like to discuss with you about moving Santana up to the third grade." Maribel cocks her slightly listening to the Principal discuss Santana's education. "She gets perfect marks on everything she is assigned, and she gets finished in record time with her tests and quizzes. This suggests to us that her intelligence level is too high for the second grade, and that her smart little brain will be better tested in a higher grade level." Mr. Smith pauses for a second to let the information sink in with Mrs. Lopez before he continues on.

"It is very rare that we bump a student up a grade in the middle of a school year, or even at all, but Santana's performance has shown us that her educational needs will be better taken care of in a higher academic setting. Of course she will not be moved without parental consent, but we highly encourage you to move her up a grade level. We believe it is the best thing for Santana, and that she will do very well with the change." Mr. Smith finishes and Maribel considers the options for a few moments.

Suddenly Santana stands up and rushes over to her mother's chair, after hearing everything. "I won't do it!" Santana yells, and both Maribel and Mr. Smith are surprised.

"Why not Mija? You're very smart, this would be a great honor." Maribel says in an attempt to encourage her daughter.

"No!" Santana yells stubbornly. "I won't go! I'm staying in second grade, unless Brittany can come with me." Santana looks back at Brittany who is staring peculiarly at her best friend.

Brittany can barely handle second grade, how would she be able to go to third with Santana? Brittany frowns with confusion. But if Santana goes to third grade without her, who will help her with second grade? Brittany's frown line gets even deeper as she realizes the need to keep Santana in second grade with her. She can't be without her best friend.

Santana walks over to Brittany who is lost in thought and stands tall. "I'm not going anywhere, unless Brittany comes with me. I like second grade Mami. We get recess with the first graders and so we get to see Tina, and all my friends are in the second grade. Brittany is in the second grade Mami. I won't leave her." Santana looks at her mother with such a sense of finality that it breaks Maribel's heart to even consider tearing Santana away from the only class she's ever known.

Maribel stands from her chair and nods politely to Mr. Smith. "I guess this is something that I will have to discuss with Dr. Lopez and Santana here. Can we have a few days to decide?"

Mr. Smith nods reassuringly and stands up to show Maribel and the girls out. "Of course, of course! There's no particular rush. Just be aware that we suggest this in Santana's best interest. She would still be able to interact with all of her friends at recess and lunch, she would just be at different learning levels."

"Thank you Richard I appreciate you taking the time to focus solely on my little girl. I know this school has a lot of kids to take care of." Maribel outreaches her hand and shakes the Principal's hand firmly. They exchange their goodbyes and Maribel walks over to the girls who are whispering quietly to each other. She crouches down to their eye level to talk to them.

"Are you ready to go home girls? Brittany you're coming home with us for a few hours while your mom is at work. Is that okay?" Brittany's face lights up as her and Santana jump up and down in excitement. Maribel chuckles at the energetic youth of the girls and reaches out to help Brittany button up her raincoat.

"Let's get this buttoned up huh? The rain is coming down like cats and dogs out there." She pokes Brittany in the tummy and Brittany giggles in response.

"I hope Lord Tubbington is inside then, he doesn't get along well with other cats and dogs. I don't think he would like it if they were raining on him…" Brittany muses and Maribel shakes her head. Kids say the silliest things.

"Santana, put on your rain jacket Mija, and grab the umbrella that's in my purse. We are going to need all the protection we can get." Maribel stands up after helping Brittany with her coat, pats her fondly on the head, and takes the umbrella from Santana.

"Can we watch Mulan when we get home Mami?" Santana turns to see if Brittany approves and Brittany nods her head animatedly.

"Sounds like a plan darling. Now let's get home before this wretched storm gets any worse. The roads have been flooding all afternoon, so hopefully the way home is okay." Maribel places a gentle hand on each of the girl's backs and leads them out into the ominous storm.

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Maribel drives cautiously through the center of Lima, being sure to keep a good distance away from the car in front of her. The radio is off so that she can concentrate on driving in these dreadful conditions and the girls are quietly looking out the window at the rainfall.

"Sanny, I'm kinda scared. The thunder is scary." Brittany murmurs and Santana looks fondly at Brittany.

"It's okay Britt. Nothing bad can happen when we are with mommy. She will take care of us, and I will take care of you. It's just rain, it can't hurt you." Santana soothes Brittany and Brittany seems to relax a bit.

"I like Mulan." Brittany says randomly after thinking about what they were going to do when they got back to Santana's house. Santana smiles at Brittany and she continues talking. "I like the horsey in it. And the dragon, Mushu. He's funny. He thinks that the horsey is a cow. Silly Dragon, he's not a cow, he's a horsey!" Santana and Brittany giggle at the mistake the dragon makes and Maribel is filled with warmth at the sound of their laughter.

All of a sudden the loud sound of sirens fills the van. Brittany and Santana cover their ears with their hands and Maribel squints into the rearview mirror to see what all the commotion is about. The rain is so bad that she can barely see ten feet in any direction so immediately she puts her flashers on and slows down. After several moments Maribel could see the distant lights of an ambulance through the fog and she carefully pulls over to the side of the road to let them pass.

"Auntie Belly what is that?" Brittany half yells.

"It's an ambulance sweetie. Someone must've gotten into an accident in this terrible weather. I do hope they are okay." Maribel tells the girls worriedly.

Brittany and Santana exchange panicked looks before staring out the window to see the ambulance. The two girls murmur soft 'oOo's' as the truck passes by followed by two police cars.

Once the commotion has safely passed, Maribel cautiously pulls back onto the road and continues to head home. After about 5 minutes of driving they pull up on the scene of the accident, where traffic is backed up.

"What's going on Mami?" Santana asks curiously, and Maribel cranes her neck to see if she can tell what's going on.

"I'm not sure darling. It looks like there was a really bad accident. The ambulance is here, and traffic is backed up."

After several minutes of waiting, the line of cars begins to progress forward. As Maribel passes the actual accident she intakes a large gasp.

A silver Ford Focus is turned completely upside down, and it looks to have rolled quite a few times before coming to a stop. She can't see anyone but police officials and EMT's and she sends a quick prayer in hopes that the driver is okay.

Santana peers out the window and recognizes the vehicle. "Mami! Isn't that Artie Abrams car?" She asks quietly. Brittany nods in recognition after she leans over Santana's seat to look out the window as well.

"It is San! Don't you remember? His mom is always parked in front of my mom when she picks us up after school. My mom and his mom are always talking when we come outside cause they are friends my mommy says." Maribel spares another quick look at the accident, hoping that everyone is okay.

Come on Mijas don't look. Let's get you home safe." Maribel says sadly and continues to drive home and away from the accident. Brittany and Santana look at each other confused and fearful, not fully comprehending the gravity of the situation. Brittany reaches over and takes Santana's hand and they whisper quietly about Artie until they get home.

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